The latest game in the Yakuza franchise is loads of fun. Seriously, after over 30 hours, I
still haven't had enough.

Yakuza: Ishin!, much like one of the previous Yakuza games, Yakuza: Kenzan!, is not a direct sequel in the series, but instead takes
the cast of the Yakuza series and
places them in a historical fantasy "what if?" sort of situation.
This time, it's the late Edo period with series protagonist and bad-ass, Kazuma
Kiryu playing the part of famed revolutionary, Ryoma Sakamoto, and captain of the third unit of the Shinsengumi,
Hajime Saito.

Sega unveiled a new Yakuza game. It's called Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin. Here's a first look.
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A Match Made in Heaven

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Right from the start the subject matter of
the game is so perfect I was surprised that the creators hadn't made this game
sooner. With the political turmoil of late feudal Japan, the personal conflict,
conspiracies and betrayals, honor and friendship – all regularly reoccurring plot
point in the previous games – the various familiar Yakuza characters slip into their historical roles perfectly,
making me both excited and already emotionally invested in the story from the
get go.

The developers have obviously taken a
fair bit of license with how things actually went down – for one thing,
Sakamoto and Saito were definitely NOT the same person – but the game seems
well aware of that and basically says "just go with it" and takes you along for the ride. Of course therein may
lie the first hurdle.

The Shinsengumi is perhaps one of Japan's most
famous and romanticized historical warrior organizations. Most Japanese people
will have at the very least a general understanding of who and what they were
about just from general media exposure. This makes getting into the game and
seeing the creators' Yakuza interpretation
all the more interesting for someone like me. But someone who has no knowledge
of the political state of Japan at the time or the significance of some of the
characters that make an appearance may find getting into the game somewhat
difficult.

So Much to Do

Aside from the main storyline, Yakuza: Ishin! is jam packed with all
sorts of activities. Mini games, random battles, character relationships, in-game
achievements, and side stories galore – the game offers a mountain of things to
do between story points and find and doing these activities come so naturally
in the normal gameplay that it's hard to stop and try to focus on the story.

The Yakuza
series developers have always been good at this sort of "padding by entertainment"
and in Yakuza: Ishin! they've brought
their A game. At one point all I needed to do was run from one location to
another to progress the plot, a simple task that would take less than a minute
in real time. The trip ended up taking over 2 hours with all the activities and
discoveries I found on the way. The thing is, if those side activities hadn't
been fun, I would have ignored most of them and gone straight ahead with the
plot. But most of them were enjoyable and all of them were at the very least
entertaining.

This is perhaps the second hurdle of
playing a Yakuza game: Any long-time
fans will likely have no problem with this sort of mish-mash of side activities
that seem to have no bearing on the story at large, but newcomers may find them
confusing or disruptive to the tone of the overarching plot.

The Combat

After 8 Yakuza
games (10 if you count the Black
Panther games for the PSP), the developers at Sega have the combat formula
fairly well refined. The combat is quick and responsive making the numerous random battles easy to get in and out of.

Yakuza: Ishin! takes
place during a time when Western culture and technology was beginning to bleed
into Japanese culture so there is the element of different fighting styles
similar to the Yakuza: Kenzan! sword style
system, but with guns to spice things up. This new addition fit quite seamlessly into the game and I quickly found myself regularly switching styles mid combat for some dazzling moves.

Note: While guns, swords and other quite lethal weapons are used in the game, quite true to creator Toshihiro Nagoshi's anti-kill-willy-nilly stance, no one actually dies in the game – despite taking punishment that would drop a bull elephant – unless the plot requires it.

Talk to Me

Sadly, Yakuza: Ishin! is not 100% voiced. The movie scenes as well as the majority of
story scenes are voiced by the regular Yakuza
cast, but the side activities and non-vital scenes go the regular Japanese method
of having characters express the emotion of what they're saying through grunts
and other verbal noises. I don't see this as being a deciding factor for people
in choosing whether to play the game or not. Still, some might find it an
annoyance.

Speaking of movie scenes and story scenes,
much as is the staple of Japanese games, the story scenes of Yakuza: Ishin! are long. Whether you mind this or not will likely depend on your emotional investment in the story. Again, I don't
see this as a deciding factor for anyone, but just in case someone was
wondering.

Widening of the Uncanny Valley

I played the PS4 version of the game, and
it was gorgeous. If there was a downside to the advancement of technology it
was that some of the rougher edges were more prominent than they probably would
be in the PS3 version of the game.

The stiffness in character models –
something I'd never really given too much thought to in previous games – was much
more noticeable this time around. Not so much as to lessen my enjoyment of the
game, but enough to pull me out from time to time, especially during the less
active scenes. Next gen is spoiling me.

Final Thoughts

Boiled down to a single word, Yakuza: Ishin! is "fun". The setting and
story are engrossing, the various gameplay elements are entertaining and time
consuming in a good way. The historical subject matter is also interesting
enough for someone like me who only has basic background knowledge of the
Shinsengumi and Ryoma Sakamoto that even after putting the controller down, I
wanted to look into and find out more about the actual historical figures and
what really happened. I wouldn't exactly call the game "educational"
in this sense, but I certainly know a lot more now than I did when I first
started playing.

Additionally, the free PS Vita app is a
definite must for anyone who also owns a Vita. The app lets you get a lot of the level
grinding, upgrading, and money collecting out of the way when you're on the go to
let you focus on the important things like chopping wood, making noodles and
dancing.

One thing that Japan will be getting for its PS4 launch that other countries didn't/won't …
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Yakuza: Ishin! is currently available in Japan for the PS3
and PS4. No word on an international release (dammit). Considering the previous
game, Yakuza 5, still has no international
release date, hope is slim.

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To contact the author of this post, write to cogitoergonihilATgmail.com or find him on Twitter @tnakamura8.